It is known to construct overhead seat belt webbing guide assemblies. These assemblies typically comprise a D-ring, or plate, rigidly secured to an overhead, or an over-shoulder vehicle structure. The D-ring further has a slot which receives and guides a webbing or belt material. It is also known that a D-ring can be rotationally mounted, so that the D-ring rotates a full 360 degrees. Both the rigid design and the fully rotational design have their problems. For rigid applications, when a vehicle occupant pulls at the webbing, with the intent of guiding it through the slot, the belt may wedge at one end of the slot if the angular difference between the slot position and the occupant's pull is too great. For fully rotational applications, the webbing has the potential of looping over upon itself, thereby, once again, snagging within the slot.
The present invention utilizes a D-ring subassembly which rotates within a predefined range about a pin. By rotating, the D-ring conforms to the angular pull of the user, thereby, assuring the webbing will not wedge. In addition, this rotation is limited within a predefined range so that the webbing will not loop over upon itself and snag. This predefined pivotal action is limited by the interaction of an angular limiter spacer with the D-ring subassembly.